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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26295685">Such a Heavenly View</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabelFishing/pseuds/BabelFishing'>BabelFishing</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Owl House (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Crushes, F/F, Fluff, Lumity, Mutual Pining, Pining, Secret Crush, Stars, Wistful, Yearning, soft, soft moments</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 09:06:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,472</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26295685</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabelFishing/pseuds/BabelFishing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Amity invites Luz to watch the stars from a popular Boiling Isles overlook. But a storm rolls in to ruin their date - at least, that's what everyone around them knows it to be. Luz manages to find a way to save the night, though, with a little mix of magic and burgeoning affection.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Lumity - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>322</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Such a Heavenly View</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>'Cause in a sky, 'cause in a sky full of stars<br/>I think I saw you - A Sky Full of Stars, Coldplay</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Inspired by this piece by ArtofKace on Tumblr - https://artofkace.tumblr.com/post/627100444275228672/look-at-the-stars-look-how-they-shine-for-you .</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So, are we still doing this or what, Blight?”</p>
<p>Luz leaned up against her locker, trying to look as laid back about her inquiry as possible. In truth, she’d been looking forward to the following evening’s get-together for weeks. School work and magic training with Eda had been piling up lately, so any opportunity for a change of pace was well-appreciated. Fortunately, Amity had offered the perfect excursion just in the nick of time.</p>
<p>“Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you’re still okay with it, right?”</p>
<p>The green-haired witch clutched several books to her chest while looking over at her friend intently. Her body language alone indicated a tense fear that Luz would back out at the last minute. Even though Luz had said “yes” at least 10 times at this point, Amity worried that Luz was only coming along to humor her.</p>
<p>Fortunately, Luz’s exuberant reaction left little doubt of her true intentions. “Are you kidding me? I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”</p>
<p>But as she said that, Luz realized that her elbow was being slowly ingested by her locker. After tugging her appendage free from the cabinet’s maw, she turned back to Amity, who was trying  hard to restrain a chuckle.</p>
<p>“You’ve been a student at Hexside for how many months now and you’re still getting attacked by the infrastructure. Really, Luz, it’s remarkable that you ever made it past the entrance exam.” Amity’s soft ribbing had been entirely in jest, in part to distract from her own anticipation.</p>
<p>“Sometimes, we all get eaten by a locker,” Luz tried to point out while checking her elbow for bite marks, “and sometimes, we all get lost inside the endless maze in the school’s basement while looking for a classroom.”</p>
<p>Amity couldn’t manage to hold back her laughter now. “Actually, that would also be a ‘you’ thing. Pretty much everyone else just uses the teleportation circle at the entrance.”</p>
<p>“Nobody told me about the teleportation circle! It’s not like Principal Bump gave me a new student orientation.”</p>
<p>“Wait, he didn’t?” Amity acted genuinely surprised, given that most average transfer students were given a full tour of the school before starting classes. Then again, Luz wasn’t an average student by any definition. After all, there weren’t any other humans at the school…or any other students as eager to learn as Luz…or any other students with as much courage…or such nice hazel-brown eyes…</p>
<p>For a moment, Amity zoned out while her subconscious took a tumble. But she managed to collect herself before the silence became too long and her face turned too red. “If he didn’t give you a real tour, then…maybe I could give you one some time.” As she said it, Amity broke eye contact reflexively.</p>
<p>Luz didn’t hesitate to accept the offer, eye contact or not. “That would be great! Let’s make it a date.”</p>
<p>Amity found herself entirely blindsided by her friend’s verbiage, which nearly caused her tamped-down blush to burst back in full force. But by clutching her books extra tight, she managed to get out a rigid laugh and a senseless “haha, yeah!” Luz didn’t appear to notice her friend’s sudden nervousness, though, as she continued to smile through the whole exchange.</p>
<p>Even as Amity’s eyes remained glued on her own shoes, Luz circled back to their present plans. “But before we plan out our grand tour, you’ve gotta tell me when these stars are going to show up tomorrow night.”</p>
<p>“Oh, right.”</p>
<p>After hesitating for a moment, Amity flipped open her personal notebook and pulled out a note she’d written hours earlier. On it, a few times and an assortment of doodled stars were scribbled down in navy blue ink.</p>
<p>After handing the note over, Amity pointed to the top-most time on the list and explained, “The Myriad star display is supposed to begin right at sunset. But once it gets dark enough, we should be able to see all the formations from the Cape.”</p>
<p>Luz was now visibly vibrating as she imagined hundreds of luminous stars blanketing the Boiling Isles’ sky. The Wailing Star had been cool and all, but it had only been a single, magically-potent fireball. This would be hundreds of times more magnificent, at least based upon Amity’s vivid descriptions.</p>
<p>While trying to contain her excitement, Luz pumped both fists and crouched down so that she was again catching Amity’s down-turned gaze. “You don’t even understand how eager I am for this. I’ve never had a chance to see the stars like this– even back in the human world. Where I live, there’s too much light pollution from the city. So, this is going to be extra special!”</p>
<p>Amity had opened her mouth to reciprocate her friend’s electrified anticipation when a voice from a few lockers down cut her off.</p>
<p>“Oh? What’s so special?”</p>
<p>Both girls turned up the hallway to see Willow walking in their direction, a vibrant purple and green succulent in hand. Over her usual green student robes, she wore a gardening apron – a sure sign that she’d just left her horticulture lab. The flecks of potting soil on her arms were also evidence of a recent struggle with some type of sentient greenery.</p>
<p>Almost instinctively, Amity slammed her personal journal shut upon hearing the plant coven student’s voice. Indeed, Willow had approached almost silently and was just behind Amity’s shoulder when she made herself known. From there, she could have easily seen any number of doodles that the former star student had scrawled into the journal’s margins. Some were pretty innocuous, while others were pretty hard to mistake as anything but wistful.</p>
<p>“Willow! Hi!”</p>
<p>From her crouch, Luz sprung up and swooped forward to hug Willow, blocking the latter’s view of Amity’s notebook inadvertently. After releasing the bespectacled girl, Luz found that a fair bit of soil had clung to her own multi-colored robes. Brushing it off, she excitedly described the preceding conversation before Amity could get a word in.</p>
<p>“Okay, so, tomorrow night, Amity and I are going up to Cerulean Cape to watch the Myriad star display. She said that it only occurs once every couple years, and she wanted to watch them with someone this time around. How was I supposed to say ‘no’ to a chance like that?”</p>
<p>Almost immediately, a knowing smile appeared on Willow’s face. “Oh, Amity invited you to Cerulean Cape? That’s a great place to see the stars. But I don’t think anyone has <em>ever </em>asked me to go with them up there.</p>
<p>Though Willow was clearly hinting at something, it was going over Luz’s head in real time. “I’ve never been up there, either. I asked around and everyone said that it’s beautiful there at night. Ideal for star-gazing, I’d say.”</p>
<p>More than once, Amity tried to cut in to nip this conversation in the bud. But since she’d returned to speaking terms with Amity, Willow had felt emboldened to give her childhood friend a hard time whenever possible.</p>
<p>“I bet you’ll have a great view. And if you’re going with someone as popular as Amity, you probably won’t have to worry about anyone else bothering you.”</p>
<p>Upon hearing this, Luz whipped her head back to Amity, who was trying to act pre-occupied by something off in the distance. “Wait, you didn’t tell me that there wouldn’t be other people up there.”</p>
<p>As the words reached her ears, Amity’s heart skipped a worried beat. <em>Maybe I was being too direct</em>, she silently feared.</p>
<p>But Luz managed to assuage that concern in almost the same instant. “I should have known that you’d find the perfect spot!”</p>
<p>By now, Willow’s smile was working harder to hold in a laugh of her own. For as much as she cared about Luz, she often wondered how she’d been able to prosper on the Boiling Isles while remaining so oblivious. But she wasn’t about to break the illusion, either – that was Gus’ job, usually.</p>
<p>So, Willow simply nodded along and tried not to poke the beehive much more. “It sounds like the two of you will have a great time up there. You’ll have to tell me about it later on. I would go watch the display, too, but my nocturnal nightshade needs tending to every night for the rest of this week. If I didn’t have that, I might have joined you.”</p>
<p>Amity had to stop herself from reflexively shaking her head in disapproval. Instead, she tried to hide her fluster by passively agreeing. “Yeah, that would been a nice time. Just the…three of us.”</p>
<p>“Another time, I guess,” Willow sarcastically suggested.</p>
<p>That was about all Amity could stand without accidently blurting out something she’d regret. After rapidly devising an escape plan, she looked back over at Luz and asked, “Hey, didn’t you say that you had to get to potions class early?”</p>
<p>Looking slightly puzzled, Luz shook her head and replied, “I don’t think I did.”</p>
<p>But before she could give it a second thought, Amity grabbed her wrist and started to drag her in the direction of the main atrium. As they started to pace away, Amity affirmed, “Yeah, you told me that you wanted to get there early for a good seat. That’s what it was.”</p>
<p>Luz could only shrug as she was towed away. Willow stayed behind and simply waved in parting. “Okay, see you guys later, then.” Once she knew that the pair was well out of ear shot, she added, “enjoy your date!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The following evening, Amity made her way through the woods surrounding Bonesborough to reach the Owl House. Only a few months ago, she would have needed a map to navigate this thicket. But now, having made her way to Eda’s semi-secret sanctuary numerous times, Amity felt confident that she could complete the journey with her eyes closed.</p>
<p>Even so, the walk out to the Owl House wasn’t short, by any means. Luz had pointed this out on several occasions when the pair had walked together after class. But those walks side-by-side always felt swift and airy, at least to Amity.</p>
<p>On this occasion, though, the trudge felt as lengthy as advertised. More than once, Amity even worried that she wouldn’t make it to the House before sundown. But once she found her way onto a familiar worn path, Amity’s began contemplating the night ahead, much as one would an upcoming date.</p>
<p>But this wasn’t a date, the young witch reminded herself again and again while clambering up a short embankment. It was just a chance to spend an evening beneath the stars with a friend. That thought stopped Amity in her tracks for a moment as she realized why that same explanation had elicited a chortle from Emira and Edric.</p>
<p>Fortunately, Amity’s sudden halt came just as she entered into the small clearing that led up to the Owl House. There, in the distance, the structure rose against the nearby cliff side, with its mismatched castle turret casting a long shadow in the setting sun. Though she hadn’t visited often during the evening, those few occasions had given Amity a true appreciation for the House’s grandeur - despite the legal notoriety of its residents.</p>
<p>None of those prior visits had endowed Amity with an appreciation for Hooty, however. In fact, the house demon’s constant badgering had led her to nearly wring his noodle-y neck on several occasions. As she approached, though, Amity was pleased to discover that Hooty had fallen asleep in the mid-afternoon glow.</p>
<p>From a few meters away, she observed Hooty’s perfectly round face snoring audibly from his usual spot on the front door. But upon reaching the threshold, Amity faced a decision – should she risk waking the beast by knocking or simply stand outside and wait to be noticed? The latter option sounded far more appealing, but she also didn’t want to give off the wrong impression. So, reluctantly, Amity extended out her arm and issued the gentlest knock of her life.</p>
<p>Just then, Hooty’s eyes burst open, as if he had been faking slumber to catch his prey unaware. He then rapidly extended down from the doorframe in an S-curve and butted his nose against Amity’s. Once there, he let out a loud, cheery “hi, Amity!”</p>
<p>The demon’s sudden movement triggered Amity’s fight-or flight response, causing her to swing up with her non-knocking hand and swat away the elongated avian. This cat-like reaction surprised Hooty, who staggered back and glared at the crown of green locks below. A dejected look spread over his carved face, a side effect of his failed high jinks.</p>
<p>“Hooty hoot! I was just trying to have some fun. You didn’t have to be so mean about it…”</p>
<p>Amity’s glower in return would have sufficed as a retort. But while brushing her frazzled hair back into place, she explained, “Hooty, I have too much to worry about tonight to deal with your antics.”</p>
<p>While curling his body into a spiral, Hooty turned his head curiously. “Oh yeaaaaaah? I thought you and Luz were just going to go watch the stars.” Then, the owl’s eyes widened a bit as he grasped the implication of the situation. “Wait, are you worried because this is a da-”</p>
<p>Before he could get the word out, Amity struck again, this time with her dominant hand. The reprisal blind-sided Hooty, who staggered back again and began to frown.</p>
<p>“Owwww! That wasn’t nice at all, hoot. Do you want me to tell Luz that you’re here or not?”</p>
<p>“Yes, please.”</p>
<p>With that curt reply, Hooty extended his body further and curved up towards the top half of the house. Once there, he poked his head in through a previously closed window and screeched, “Luz! Your extra rude guest is here!”</p>
<p>From ground level, Amity thought that she heard Luz let out a surprised scream before shouting back, “Hooty! What have I said about privacy?”</p>
<p>“I didn’t want you to keep your friend waiting, that’s all.”</p>
<p>While focusing on brushing out her hair in the nearby mirror, Luz gestured over in the demon’s direction. “Okay, let her in then. Tell her I’ll be down in just a minute.”</p>
<p>Without any delay, Hooty popped his head out of the window frame and loudly relayed the message. “Luz says she’ll be down in a minute!”</p>
<p>With that, he pushed the front door open without shrinking back down to his normal size. As a result, Amity had to duck under his extended trunk before making her way into the Owl House’s main sitting room.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, upstairs, Luz continued to fret sartorially. After what felt like hours of comparing, she’d narrowed her choices down to three outfits. Each had its own benefits – one was fashionable, one was comfy, and one was a giant stuffed otter costume.  If she had more time to plan out the evening, she’d have found a way to wear all three over the course of the night. But now that Amity had arrived, it was crunch time.</p>
<p>Urgency aside, Luz still managed to while away a few more minutes by staring out the now-open bathroom window. Hooty had finally contracted back to the front door below, leaving Luz with a crisp view of the golden setting sun. Regardless of the season, Luz was still amazed that most every day on the Boiling Isles ended with such scenes of natural beauty. Not even the gathering dark clouds on the horizon could distract from that.</p>
<p>Finally, after feeling that she’d put off her decision long enough, Luz turned back to the trio of outfits hanging from the nearby medicine cabinet. In an attempt to pep herself up, Luz looked at herself sternly in the mirror while pounding her fist on the stone countertop. “Alright, Noceda, it’s time to get serious.”</p>
<p>A minute or so later, a knock sounded at the bathroom door. Eda stood outside, wonderinh aloud what was causing her apprentice to take so long. As best she could remember, she hadn’t used any milk in their dinner…probably.</p>
<p>“Luz, are you in there? Are you…um…feeling okay?”</p>
<p>The bathroom door opened a crack, revealing the form of a large, stuffed otter. The otter’s ears flopped backward as Luz looked up, revealing the discernable uncertainty in the young human’s hazel-brown eyes. While averting her gaze away from her magical mentor, Luz explained, “Yeah, I’m okay. I just…can’t decide what I want to wear.”</p>
<p>“Wait, really? Don’t you usually just wear that blue and white cat cloak thing?”</p>
<p>“I do, yeah. But I wanted to wear something different tonight.”</p>
<p>“What’s going on tonight that’s so special?” As soon as she asked, Eda recalled one of the only things her apprentice had talked about during their daily lessons. “Wait, are you going star-gazing tonight? Won’t it just be dark the whole time?”</p>
<p>Eda raised a fair point, but it didn’t put Luz any more at ease with her indecision. “It will be…but I don’t know. I just want to look cooler than usual, I guess.”</p>
<p>For a split second, Eda’s maternal instincts flashed to the forefront. “If I were you, I’d wear something I’m comfortable with. That way, you have one less thing to worry about.”</p>
<p>Luz didn’t reply immediately, but instead closed the door and reexamined her other two outfit options. Before deciding, though, she admitted through the oak door, “you’re probably right. Thanks, Eda.”</p>
<p>Feeling accomplished, Eda strowed away to see if she could give some half-serviceable advice to King. But before heading downstairs, she rapped on the bathroom door again and added, “You better decide quick, though. Your little date might be ruined if Hooty is allowed to describe the bugs he saw today for much longer.”</p>
<p>With a hanger of clothes now in hand, Luz the otter cracked the door again. Her usual chipper smile had suddenly vanished, replaced by an almost stern stare. “It’s not a date, Eda. Amity and I are just going to Cerulean Cape and watching the star display together.”</p>
<p>Raising an eyebrow, Eda looked back at her pupil with a real sense of astonishment. “Clearly, the definition of a ‘date’ has changed a lot since I was at Hexside.”</p>
<p>Luz ignored this last quip while beginning to don her chosen attire. In the end, the comfy outfit won out, with its cherry red hoodie and black cuffed jeans, both of which had been salvaged from Eda’s trove of human world attire. Over top the hoodie, Luz also layered on a slightly faded blue jean jacket that she’d borrowed from Willow for just this occasion. With a few enamel pins tacked on for good measure, Luz turned back to the mirror and smiled with pleasure at her selected wardrobe.</p>
<p>After running a brush through her hair a couple times more, Luz felt ready to head downstairs and face the music. Or face the Hooty, as the case may be. With the bathroom door cracked, Luz could easily hear the demon’s incessant chatter, despite being an entire floor away. Clearly, she needed to get downstairs before Amity followed through with her regular threat to tie the bird in a knot.</p>
<p>Without further ado, Luz waltzed out of the bathroom and down the stairs. Just before stepping onto the landing, though, she paused to ensure that she was fully ready for the stage. Cool clothes – check. Styled hair – check. Brushed teeth – a few hours ago, but still worthy of a check. As far as she could tell, she was Cape-ready…</p>
<p>But something still felt off, despite all of the preparations. Somewhere, in the deep recesses of her mind, Luz could still feel an unshakable trepidation taking hold. For as long as she could remember, she had felt like this when she knew that a lot of people’s eyes would be on her. Faking a bout of lactose-related indigestion to get out of the grade school play had been a natural side effect.</p>
<p><em>There isn’t a crowd out there</em>, Luz reminded herself, eyes shut tight, <em>it’s just Amity</em>. But that thought didn’t provide the intended comfort. Instead, Luz could feel herself become more nervous, just as she had weeks earlier when she readied herself for Grom. There wasn’t a shape-shifting fear monster to face here, though – <em>so what am I so worried about?</em></p>
<p>There wasn’t time to parse it out, she decided through a clenched fist. Any further hesitation and they’d both miss something that they’d been looking forward to.</p>
<p>So, just as her mom had taught her, Luz took a few therapeutic breaths, in and out. Each exhalation helped her feel more centered, more focused, more prepared to be seen. <em>It’s now or never</em>, she thought, <em>and I want it to be now</em>.</p>
<p>“Whooooooo’s ready to see some stars?”</p>
<p>With a bit of a running start, Luz slide into the living room on her socked feet. Both Hooty, who was lapping tea out of a resting cup, and Amity, who was drinking her own Earl Grey with the refined restraint of her cultured upbringing, turned to see the Boiling Isle’s sole human enter in style. Luz’s ingress had been sudden, however, causing Amity to choke a bit between sips.</p>
<p>“Oh, Luz! You’re here, right now.” Realizing that she was pointing out the obvious, the green-haired witch tried to quickly qualify her observation while juggling her teacup. “Oh, I mean, of course you are! You live here. But like, you’re here, in this room.”</p>
<p>Hooty was unconvinced by the girl’s attempted recovery, but said nothing, for fear that Amity would follow through with her threat from earlier. Instead, he looked up from his tea and proclaimed, “Wow, Luz! You’re looking sooooooo fashionable!”</p>
<p>With a wink, a nod, and a few invisible shots from her finger guns, Luz beamed back, “Aren’t I always, though?”</p>
<p><em>Absolutely, yes,</em> Amity thought to herself while grasping her cup a bit too tight, <em>you literally managed to make a Hexside uniform look stylish. </em>But aloud, Amity managed to keep her cool and muse, “Hooty’s right. Your outfit looks really…cool.” With this gentle compliment paid, Amity eyes drifted down to the floorboards, as if they were afraid to catch Luz’s line of sight.</p>
<p>If she’d kept her eyes up, she might have seen Luz’s eyes begin to sparkle right at that moment. Immediately, Luz felt that all of her fretting had been worth it to impress one of the most popular girls in school. Sure, it was flattery from a friend. But it still made her feel warm to the core – even without accounting for her several coat layers.</p>
<p>After breaking her pose, Luz strowed over to the couch and plopped down beside Amity. “So, I’m ready to head out when you are. I just need to pop on my shoes.” As she said that, she gestured over to the door, where a pair of red Chuck Taylors rested. They looked almost new, likely because Luz had bribed Owlbert to snag them from the human world only a few days prior.</p>
<p>“I’m ready to go, too,” Amity replied while setting aside her cup and saucer. “If we go now, we should be able to make it to the Cape before the full display starts.”</p>
<p>“Then what are we waiting for?”</p>
<p>In a split second, Luz sprinted across the room and pulled on her cherry-colored sneakers. In another blink, she’d managed to lace both shoes up and spring back to her feet. By then, Amity had crossed the room and joined her at the threshold.</p>
<p>With a nod to her friend, Luz reached down for the front doorknob. But just as her hand hovered above the knob’s worn iron surface…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>*CRACK*</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A massive peel of thunder crashed outside, with its sound shaking the entire Owl House down to its foundation. Hooty reacted instantly, with a surprised squawk emanating from his magical lungs. These tumultuous sounds combined caused both Luz and Amity to flinch backward, just in time to see several flashes of lightning emanate through the nearby windows.</p>
<p>“What was that?” exclaimed Luz, finally opening the front door and peering outside. After ducking under Hooty’s extended body, she immediately caught sight of a sizable thunderhead coalescing over the entire area. Already in the distance, she could see curtains of rain pouring down on Bonesbourough, with the torrent headed right in their direction.</p>
<p>Amity joined Luz on the porch soon thereafter, her legs still tense from the explosive disturbance moments earlier. At first, she thought that the noise was another of Hooty’s pranks. But upon seeing the coming storm, her stomach dropped. That squall was more than just a racket; it would also obscure the skies above for the foreseeable future.</p>
<p>As if on cue, Amity felt the first rain drop plunk her square in the head. Then another came, this time landing on her temple. These were followed by a handful more, with the sprinkle turning to a proper downpour in under a minute. In an attempt to protect the pair, Amity leapt into action and traced a forcefield spell. The magical barrier appeared out of thin air, allowing her to grab its concave underside and hold the entire apparition like a knight’s shield.</p>
<p>With their makeshift umbrella in place, the pair dashed back to the front door, shoving Hooty out of the way as they scampered for shelter indoors. Once inside, Luz slammed the hatch shut and turned to her friend with a look of concern in her eyes.</p>
<p>“Are you okay?” she blurted out as she grabbed Amity’s arm, “did any get on you?”</p>
<p>This, more than the lightning and thunder, surprised Amity. In response, her arm tensed up and she found herself stuttering for a reply. “I…um…some did, I think.”</p>
<p>“Where? I don’t see any burns or redness.”</p>
<p>Suddenly, Luz’s swift triage made more sense. “That wasn’t scalding rain, Luz. It was just normal rain.”</p>
<p>Upon hearing it, Luz realized that she, too, wasn’t experiencing any burning. In all, she’d only felt a few cool drops glance her face and hands before Amity pulled out her barrier. So, with a relieved grin, she admitted, “that’s a relief. I was afraid we were going to get boiled like lobsters out there.”</p>
<p>The pit in Amity’s stomach then returned, as she realized the storm’s implications. “Still, we can’t really go out in this kind of weather.”</p>
<p>“Sure we can,” Luz shot back enthusiastically. “Just pop up another of those force fields and we should be good to go.”</p>
<p>Amity knew that she could, but that was beside the point. “I could. But even if I could keep us dry, I don’t have any way to part the clouds. If this storm stays over the town, we won’t be able to see the stars – from Cerulean Cape or from anywhere else.”</p>
<p>Upon hearing it said, Luz also realized how ruinous the storm had become for their evening plans. Without another word, her excited smile melted into a dejected frown that only curled down further when another crack of thunder sounded outside. This secondary crash was enough to spook Hooty further, who jumped to the ceiling, crashed into a ceiling-hung lantern, and retracted himself back outside.</p>
<p>“Yeah, you’re right…” Luz relented before brushing a few stray raindrops out of her hair. “I guess star-gazing is off the agenda, then.”</p>
<p>Seeing her friend’s mood shift as suddenly as the weather outside, Amity began to worry that their date – er, their outing would be rained out.</p>
<p>As best as she could, she tried to offer some reassurance. “Hey, it’s okay. We can always just hang out here. There’ll be other nights to watch the stars.”</p>
<p>“We could hang out here, I guess,” Luz agreed while gesturing to the cluttered living room, “But there aren’t any stars in here.”</p>
<p>Just as the words left her lips, a light of inspiration flashed before Luz’s eyes. It wasn’t just a fresh gasp of lightning from outside the nearby window, either; instead, this was a fully formed idea that Luz believed she could put into action if she started preparing at this very moment.</p>
<p>In a sudden flurry of action, Luz pulled off her Chucks, tossed them back toward the door, and hustled for the couch. After grabbing up a pair of pillows, she rushed back to the middle of the room and tossed them down haphazardly. The well-worn pillows skittered across the floor momentarily while Luz made her way back to the stairwell. Before grabbing the banister to pull herself up, she leaned back and implored, “I have an idea. Sit down there, close your eyes, and wait for me to tell you to open them.”</p>
<p>With that, the young human started racing up the stairs two at a time. Amity, meanwhile, did as she was asked without any complaint. After all, she wasn’t about to argue with the zeal that she loved – er, admired so much.</p>
<p>After settling down on the pillow, Amity realized that she was now alone in the living room. The storm outside had spun up further, filling the indoor space with the sound of rain pounding on plate glass. Despite the hectic action of the last several minutes, Amity felt at ease in this place. Her heart was still beating a little faster than usual, knowing that Luz was nearby. But she managed to keep still and wait patiently, knowing that the apple of her eye had some type of surprise in store.</p>
<p>Every so often, Amity could hear Luz’s feet pounding on the creaky floors above. Luz, for her part, was busy collecting as many slips of spell paper as she could find in her room. Once she had several reems of the parchment gathered up, she snatched a pencil from her desk and bolted back out to the stairwell.</p>
<p>As she rushed down, she missed seeing Eda, who had emerged from her own chamber with an assortment of colorful candles in hand. Waving them in Luz’s direction, she called, “Hey, Luz! Before you leave on your date, do you want some of these candles? They could really help liven up the mood while you’re out on the Cape.”</p>
<p>Luz only managed to hear the tail end of Eda’s offer through the stairway’s labored creaking. Upon reaching the landing, she looked back up the stairs and excitedly hollered, “Change of plans, Eda. It’s storming outside, so we’re just going to hang out here and watch some stars inside.”</p>
<p>“In that case,” Eda pronounced while reviewing the several tallow candles in her arms, “I’ll make myself scarce.” As she began to stroll back towards her nest, she added, “Let me know if you two need anything!”</p>
<p>“We’ll be sure to,” Luz called back while heading into the living room. For a moment, Luz heard her own mother’s caring tone in Eda voice and realized how much it made her miss home. But at the same time, she couldn’t ignore the feeling that the Owl House was quickly becoming her second home. With a mentor like Eda and friends like Willow, Gus, and Amity, she simply couldn’t imagine leaving this place prematurely.</p>
<p>Eventually, though, Luz knew that she wanted to travel back to the human world and tell her mom about her adventures…but for now, she wanted relish everything that this world had to offer – including the look on Amity’s face when this plan came to fruition.</p>
<p>With that goal at the front of her mind, Luz scurried back into the living room and tossed her armload of paper slips down on a nearby coffee table. With her pencil still in hand, she knelled down beside the table and began to furiously scratch out a series of conjoined lines and circles. Soon, a light glyph took form on the spell slip, at which point Luz set it aside without activating it.</p>
<p>Rhythmically, Luz settled in and repeated the process until a hefty stack of slips rested on the couch’s armrest. Once she had a hundred or more light glyph slips made, Luz grabbed the bunch and began to distribute them in a grid-like pattern across the open living room floor. Along the way, she tried to maintain a rogue-like skulk so that Amity didn’t catch on to her scheme.</p>
<p>Quiet and careful though she was, Amity could still sense her friend’s flurry of motion through closed eye lids. After a few moments of listening to Luz’s soft movements and the patter of rain, she inquisitively asked, “So…what exactly are you making?”</p>
<p>Luz nabbed another stack of finished glyphs and quickly replied, “It’s a secret, silly. It wouldn’t be any fun if I just told you.”</p>
<p>With her eyes still shut, Amity acquiesced and shrugged her shoulders. “Fair enough. But can I at least have a hint?”</p>
<p>“I guess you can. How about this – I’ve found a way to bring the stars to us.”</p>
<p>That piqued Amity’s interest, not least because it was coming from someone who had cast her first spell fairly recently. “Seriously? Is it a spell Eda created?”</p>
<p>“Nope! This one’s a Luz Noceda original, with a little help from a book I read.”</p>
<p>“Is it safe?”</p>
<p>“100% safe, from start to finish. Now, all I need to do is…”</p>
<p>Luz trailed off as she walked over to the far end of the room and examined her constructed grid of light glyphs. From there, she could clearly see what adjustments needed to be made before her project was complete.</p>
<p>After snapping a mental photo of the grid – including the cute green-haired witch at its center – Luz rushed back to the near end of the room and began to shuffle numerous spell slips out of their rigid alignment. Soon, the grid had been entirely scrambled, with the numerous slips looking more like they had been placed by accident rather than with intention. To Luz, though, the clutter looked picture-perfect, save for one final step.</p>
<p>“Okay, I think it’s basically ready now. Let me just activate these and then the show can begin.”</p>
<p>With a sudden burst of agility, Luz bolted all across the room, slapping her palm down on each and every light glyph. In sequence, each piece of spell paper crumpled up and turned into a self-contained orb of light. Then, after a moment, each newly-made orb floated up to the ceiling of their own accord. Once there, each orb bounced softly and silently against the second floor trusses before coming to rest directly above their origin point.</p>
<p>Finally, after the last glyph had beamed to life, Luz returned to her observation point on the far end of the living room. From flat on the floor, Luz then peered up at her creation. What she saw elicited a satisfied smile that glowed almost as brightly as the mass of miniature suns before her.</p>
<p>“Is it ready? Can I open my eyes now?” Amity didn’t want to sound impatient, but the anticipation was starting to make it hard to sit idly.</p>
<p>“Just 10 more seconds, that’s it,” Luz pleaded while making her way back to middle of the living room. Once there, she sat down on the floor before adjusting her pillow and reclining fully. Even with her eyes closed, Amity could feel her friend’s presence close to her, almost like a magical radiance. It caused her to gasp silently, as if Luz’s proximity had set off a static charge across her own skin.</p>
<p>“Are you going to join me down here or what?” Luz asked once she had made herself comfortable.</p>
<p>Amity then realized that Luz was actually prone beside her. In response, she slide down and rested her head on her own pillow, her face turned upward but still mere inches from her companion. Once she felt settled, she asked, “Like this?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, perfect,” Luz responded with a smile that she knew Amity couldn’t see. “Are you ready, then?”</p>
<p>With a heartened nod, Amity gave a resounding “yes!” Her eyes then flashed open and were immediately blanketed in a fabric of golden light.</p>
<p>After refocusing, Amity began to see Luz’s surprise in earnest. Before her, pinned to the ceiling above, were innumerable points of light, each of which shimmered like a distant star. Each was elegant on their own, but their combined beauty was enough to make the thunderous storm outside fade away.</p>
<p>As she began to look all around the ceiling, Amity began to realize that these light orbs weren’t simply cast to the ceiling randomly. Instead, some fell into patterns she’d seen before. Towards the door, there was a formation known as Kanin – a sort of rabbit, whose curved body and flopping ears were formed by invisible lines between each light point.</p>
<p>Then, to her left, Amity spotted Avsky, the progenitor of all abominations in the Boiling Isles. Curling around him was Val, the leviathan of the sea who fought the Titan during the ancient era. All of these legendary figures were just figments of sight, of course, as all the constellations were. But still, Amity felt starstruck to see them brought to radiant life without the pitch dark skies as a backdrop.</p>
<p>As she continued to take in the impromptu light show, Amity spotted a particularly poignant formation right above Luz. There, the Kärlek’s wings spread out and encircled several other constellations. Having read many myths and tales to the town’s children at the library, Amity knew well that this bird was said to bring romantic blessings to those that could catch it.</p>
<p>Perhaps it was just a coincidence that Luz had placed that formation above herself. But it still caused Amity’s face to warm a little at the thought of such intentions.</p>
<p>All the while, Amity was entirely silent, save for the occasional subconscious “wow” when she caught sight of another familiar alignment. Finally, though, Amity pulled her eyes from the stars for a moment, long enough to look in Luz’s direction.</p>
<p>“Luz…all of this is amazing. You did all of this with just your light glyphs?”</p>
<p>Luz continued to gaze up at her work while replying, “For the most part, yeah. I couldn’t have figured out all of the constellations without a little help, of course.”</p>
<p>“What do you mean? You’re not in any astrology classes…not that I know your schedule but…”</p>
<p>“Nope. I actually learned about all these from a book at the library.”</p>
<p>Amity thought that she knew the precise book her friend was referencing, but Luz confirmed her suspicions without prompting. “I think it was called, ‘Stories in the Stars.’”</p>
<p>To hear Luz say the tome’s title brought Amity an unexpected sense of bookish joy. It was like learning that Luz had read the Azura novels all over again. Without thinking, she quickly blurted out, “I love that book. I used to read it all the time when I was a kid. In fact, I was…”</p>
<p>“Reading it to the kids at the library,” Luz cut back in. “Don’t be mad, but I maaaay have overheard you reading and listened in for myself.”</p>
<p>At first, Amity could feel a light rage heating up inside herself. But after seeing Luz pleading for sarcastic mercy, she couldn’t even manage a cross word. She still preferred some privacy while reading to her library group. But if anyone had to eavesdrop on her during one of her favorite parts of the week, then she wanted it to be Luz.</p>
<p>“Oh, you heard me reading it…but how’d you learn all of this from that one section about Val? I skipped over some of the more complicated parts that I thought the kids wouldn’t enjoy.”</p>
<p>“Well, after hearing you read it, I thought the book sounded really interesting. So, I ended up checking it out with the library card I got for being a Hexside student.”</p>
<p>Amity couldn’t help but feel a little humbled by Luz’s willingness to check out a book based only on having heard her read it aloud.</p>
<p>“Did you like it, then?”</p>
<p>Luz finally turned to look Amity in the eyes.</p>
<p>“Was it <em>The Good Witch Azura</em>? No. But did I still read it cover-to-cover in two days flat? I sure did. I can see why you liked it so much when you were little. The author really brought all of those old stories to life. And the illustrations – they don’t have anything like that in the kids’ books from my world.”</p>
<p>“I used to keep the book way past its due date just to look at those pictures,” Amity admitted sheepishly, “I tried to redraw them a million times, but I could never measure up to the original illustrator. I think I read the story of Lazuli the Provident a million times, too. I wanted to be just like her – skilled enough to predict the future, but wise enough to not manipulate it.”</p>
<p>While pushing a few loose strands of hair behind her ear, Amity confessed, “Actually, Lazuli and that book originally made me want to join the Oracle coven. But once I saw what the Emperor’s coven could do…that became my new goal.”</p>
<p>In all the time she’d known Amity, Luz had rarely seen her open up like this – save for when she talked about the Azura books. Clearly, she had a soft spot for literature, even if she wouldn’t admit as much when they were at school. With that in mind, Luz made a mental note to compile a list of more books that they would talk about, like a book club for two. That way, they’d never run out of things to talk about and they could spend even more nights like this, just chatting under the stars.</p>
<p>At that thought, Luz felt some warmth rush to her cheeks. It was sudden, unexpected, and she wasn’t sure if Amity could see it. The room was dark, at least, save for the dispersed light from above and the occasional flash of lightning through the house’s windows. Knowing that her blush was out of sight, Luz allowed herself to enjoy this unbridled moment of bliss.</p>
<p>In that way, Luz and Amity passed the late evening hours together, even as the storm outside raged. Inside, the pair were comfortable together, even as they both occasionally felt a pang of affection that they couldn’t vocalize. Little actions and quips of honesty were enough to say it silently though, as when Luz tossed blankets over them both and asked Amity if she’d ever wished on a shooting star.</p>
<p>“What do you mean, ‘shooting star?’,” Amity questioned, “do the stars fall out of the sky in your world? That sounds…really dangerous.”</p>
<p>Luz couldn’t help but chuckle at the idea. “No, not really. It just looks like it sometimes. They’re actually bits of rock from space that burn up as they fall to Earth. They leave these long, bright tails that disappear in the blink of an eye. That’s why people say you should wish on a shooting star as soon as you see it.”</p>
<p>“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that here,” Amity guessed, “but that does sound pretty amazing.”</p>
<p>“Here, it looks a little something like this.” As Luz said it, she reeled back and tossed a crumpled ball of spell paper at a nearby light orb. The jolt knocked the orb out of its floating position, causing it to tumble to the floor and burst into silent sparks. In its wake, a brief, yet luminescent trail cascaded from ceiling to floor.</p>
<p>“Wow,” was again all Amity could manage. The whole night through, she’d been impressed by everything Luz had done to make this <strike>date</strike> get-together a success. But this little gesture, to make an artificial star fall for her – it made all of the disappointment from missing out on their time at Cerulean Cape melt away.</p>
<p>There was silence thereafter for a few minutes more. Then, Luz spoke up – “What would you wish for? If that was a real shooting star, I mean.” Her eyes showed genuine interest in Amity’s response, even as they were turned up towards the artificial night sky.</p>
<p>Instantly, Amity knew the answer - the real, honest answer. But she wasn’t ready to say it out loud, not just yet. She was too busy taking in the heavenly views, both those above and beside her. If she’d ever be able to answer, she’d felt that she needed to be at least half as courageous as Azura – that is, if that amount of pluck existed outside of fantasy stories.</p>
<p>Instead, Amity allowed silence to settle back into the living room. Now, well past midnight, the storm outside had begun to calm and break apart. With a soft, tender smile, she tried to communicate her wish to Luz. But for now, Luz’s eyes were fixed on the tapestry of stars above. Amity hoped that she’d turn to see her there – if not now, then soon.</p>
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